Family

These ships (accommodating 600 to 2,999 passengers) don't exactly feel small when you're onboard. Sharing many of the attributes of megaships, the large ships offer resort facilities including lavish spas and casinos, sizeable sunning areas and multiple pools, a broad choice of dining venues (some for a fee) and bars, full show productions, and extensive facilities for youngsters. You'll find such diversions as mini-golf, video arcades, Internet cafes, coffee cafés, and even some rock-climbing walls and waterslides. The 2,850-passenger Celebrity Solstice and its sister ships even have a half-acre of real grass up on top decks. Quiet nooks and crannies are easier to come by on some, but not all of these ships. Ships in the large category include the 2,984-passenger Carnival Conquest, the 1,950-passenger Celebrity Summit, and Princess's 1,950-passenger Island Princess.

Mid-size ships are also spacious enough to of­fer a di­verse cruise ex­pe­ri­ence, but with­out quite the va­ri­ety or frenetic pace of the large ships. The ships of Ocea­nia and Aza­ma­ra, in­clud­ing the 1,250-passenger Ocea­nia Ma­ri­na and the 694-passenger Aza­ma­ra Jour­ney, fall in­to this cat­ego­ry, serv­ing up a con­vivial, coun­try-club-like am­bi­ence. With their clas­sic vibe, the small­er ships of Hol­land Amer­ica such as the 1,380-pas­sen­ger Am­ster­dam, al­so fit in­to this cat­ego­ry. And here too in the lux­ury cat­ego­ry are the two Crystal Cruises ships and Re­gent Sev­en Seas' 700-passenger Seven Seas Voyager and Seven Seas Mariner. In fact, a mid-size ship is about as large as you'll find when deal­ing with luxe lines.

Choose these ships if you...

Want a resort-like cruise experience. Like to keep ac­tive day and night. Are trav­el­ing with kids, es­pe­cial­ly teens. Are seeking a destination-focused itinerary on a mid-size ship.

Don't choose these ships if you...

Hate crowds (although the luxury ships have less of a crowded feel than do the non-luxury ships). Are happy sitting in the sun and don't want to be distracted by an array of activities.

--Fran Golden is the Experience Cruise expert blogger and a contributing editor of Porthole Magazine. She is the co-author of Frommer's Alaska Cruises and Ports of Call.